It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like.....you know.

So, like we expected, snow came early to Maine, and a good dose too!  Not to worry!  I was actually prepared this year.  Snow-pants, sleds and boots were at the ready!  Kids have been sledding a few times now, and we have two super hills to chose from.  One we had seen this summer and were waiting for this opportunity.  The other was suggested to us by our new friends Scott (not my Scott), Yevah and Zabel.  What a hill!  Feels like you could shoot right into the ocean!  It took real courage to aim the sled downward and let go.
This month is running on high speed...as usual.  The Merrimac Christmas Parade was canceled this year due to rain, but we still had a fantastic visit with Gammy and Gampy.  Kids helped decorate their house and tree for the holidays.  We are looking forward to an overnight visit from my parents this Friday.  They are headed north to see the kids art work in a show that Friday evening.  We are all excited.  My guess is that the next time I add to this Santa will have come, and all the hustle and bustle will have simmered down a bit.

I had to leave the room...too messy to watch.

Great blue-grass band Scott and I went to the other night.  We are loving the availability of awesome shows here.

This years first snow was a beauty.

Fiona's cookies.  Always made with love.

First hill.  It's O.K.

Second hill.  YIKES!

All four kids trying to stick together.

Kids decorated their own cupcakes for a Harry Potter themed movie night.

On our way home from vet.  Cullen was a nightmare patient!

Big kids, big help.

"We got this Gammy!"

What happens when I tell them to "Strike a pose".

What happens when I say,"Make a face!"

Family train.

Cullen Camaro Jason

Oh how wonderful it is to have a dog in the house again.  He gets so excited when we come through the door...even if we are gone only an hour!  Each morning that we let Cullen out of his crate he bounds around in circles nibbling us and whining, tail whipping everyone to pieces!  Cullen even enjoyed his first car ride to Gammy and Gampy's.  He said he could get used to a fire place and huge yard!  I find it hard to believe that we haven't had him longer than a month.  Such great little adventures we have had this past October.  Fiona made Ethan's Halloween costume as well as her own this year.  I was so proud of her!  I think she enjoyed gathering compliments more than candy for trick or treat!  We enjoyed a family hike along the ocean last weekend.  It was Cullen's first long walk.  He did well, with a nap at the half-way point.  Yesterday we packed into the car and landed at my parents to celebrate three birthdays in one swoop!  Gampy's (10/16) Gammy's (11/8) and Ellie's (11/17).  Sandra joined us and it was a perfect family gathering.  Cake, rice crispy treats...and Uncle Jason's "magic burgers".  I am pretty sure November will move along at lightning speed.  I can only try to keep up!

The kids love this little island.

Can you find Fiona?  Hint: top right

Most of these leaves are long gone now.

But it is always fun while it lasted.

Nice local hike with my parents a few weeks ago.

Our first big walk with the dog.  

Check out that big shadow.

My beautiful butterfly!

The Powerful Zeus!

Kids are getting ripped!

The playground down the street just added this new structure!

Fiona ordered a metal detector with her Amazon cards.  So far she's found 51 cents!

Gammy, Fiona and Cullen investigating a newly dug hole in Gammy and Gampy's yard.

I used to swaddle the kids and swing them in this tire...

Birthday tri-fecta.  

A Bountiful Harvest!

This October has proven to be full of life!  Two of my oldest and dearest friends welcomed new babies into their families.  Valario joins big sister Viola in Italy where they live with Mommy, Hallie and Daddy, Emiliano.  Nell joins big sister Olive in Flagstaff where they live with Mommy, Lil and Daddy, Paul.  I am so joyful and relieved that all went according to plan and all are healthy.  Phew!  Here in the Jason family we will be welcoming our newest family member a week from today.  His name is Cullen Camaro (his old racing name) Jason.  We drove to the capital last Saturday to pick him out of the many greyhounds that are available.  We are just awaiting his neutering surgery....  It was love at first sight for me with this guy.  Two dogs had been brought out ahead of him, and I was worried I just wouldn't be able to love another dog like I had Zevon...and then "Camaro" came through the door.  What a goofball.  Tail wagging in a helicopter formation!  He's a big boy.  We had to get the largest crate on the market.  But he's worth the loss of sq. footage in our apartment.  We were also lucky to have Cate stay with us for three nights over the Columbus Day weekend.  The kids are such fun to listen to and watch.  Seriously "stupid" humor and crazy giggles.  Scott and I decided to take them apple picking.  We are still working through the 4 bags we picked!  I am reminded how very much we all love the autumn.  Walks around the park nearby, and strolls through the graveyard are so marvelous in this crisp cool air!

We took the kids to an art walk Friday night.  Ethan and Cate are "listening" to some really weird art.

The game of Life.  Where whoever has the most money in the ends wins... 

This may be the last picture of Ethan on his Dad's shoulders!

"O.K. son.  There is a right way and a wrong way to pick an apple".

We popped into a great consignment shop.  Sadly, no purchases were made.

What?!  How'd that picture get in there?

Blow dryers are under-rated.

Fiona shopping with her gift certificate from Auntie.  There's a great fabric shop downtown.

Working on her giant bird sculpture in art school.

Ethan adding finishing touches to his work in class.

Can you just smell the "old book smell" from this picture?

He is so damn cute!!!

Gotta savor these Indian Summer days.

New Car!!  Kids love that their seats recline!

Here she is.  The mini-mini van.

Last of the blossoms...

I decided to go grey/lavender.  'Cause I can.

You have to zoom in on my girls face.  I could cry I love her so much.  The joy she has gotten from feeding birds since she was a toddler has never diminished!

I dropped the kids at climbing club and took a quiet late afternoon walk through the cemetery.

I know!  You have to look away he's so cute!!!!!

Cullen makes Ethan look tiny!